United States v. Mazza-AlalufUnited States v. Mazza-Alaluf
Dеfendant Mauricio Alfonso Mazza-Alaluf appeals from a judgment of conviction entered after a bench trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (P. Kevin Castel, Judge). The district court found Mazza-Alaluf guilty of conspiring to operate and actually operating an unlicensed money transmitting business,
see
We reject these arguments as without merit. Title
I. Background
On October 15, 2008, a grand jury in the Southern District of New York charged Mazza-Alaluf in a two-count, superseding indictment with conspiring to operate and actually operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, Turismo, in violation of
Pursuant to
Although the district court found Mazza-Alaluf guilty of both conspiring to operate and operating a money transmitting business without obtaining appropriate licenses in New York, Illinois, and Michigan,
see
Because the value of funds transmitted by Turismo in the three states wаs approximately $244 million, the Probation Office reported that Mazza-Alaluf s base offense level under the Sentencing Guidelines was thirty-four.
See
U.S.S.G. §§ 2X1.1, 2S1.3(a)(2), 2B1.1(b)(1)(0). The district court then granted a two-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility.
See id.
§ 3E1.1(a). With a criminal history category of I, the district court calculated that Mazza-Alaluf faced a Guidelines range of 121 to 151 months’ imprisonment. Title
II. Discussion
A. Mazzar-Alaluf s Sufficiency Challenge
Although we review a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence
de novo,
1. Section 1960(b)(1)(A) Does Not Require Proof that the Charged Money Transmitting Business Was a “Domestic Financial Institution” Covered by Federal Reporting Requirements
Title
[T]he term “unlicensed money transmitting business” means a money transmitting business which affects interstаte or foreign commerce in any manner or degree and—
(A)is operated without an appropriate money transmitting license in a State where such operation is punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony under State law, whether or not the defendant knew that the operation was required to be licensed or that the operation was so punishable;
(B) fails to comply with the money transmitting business registration requirements under section 5330 of title 31, United States Code, or regulations prescribed under such section; or
(C) otherwise involves the transportation or transmission of funds that are known to the defendant to have been derived from a criminal offense or are intended to be used to promote or support unlawful activity[.]
In mounting a sufficiency challenge to his
Mazza-Alaluf contends that for him to be guilty of violating
Accordingly, we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to permit a reasonable factfinder to conclude that Mazza-Alaluf was guilty undеr
In any event, we note that even if
2. The Evidence Was Sufficient To Permit the District Court To Find that Mazza-Alaluf Operated a Money Transmitting Business in New York, Illinois, and Michigan Without Appropriate State Licenses
Although Mazza-Alaluf does not dispute that Turismo was a money transmitting business according to the plain meaning of the term or that Turismo transferred hundreds of millions of dollars from its bank accounts in New York, Illinois, and Michigan, he maintains that Turismo was not subject to those states’ licensing requirements because his business “was, in every sense, Chilean to its core.” Appellant’s Br. at 33. This argument fails because record evidence that Turismo conducted substantial money transmitting business in the three states permitted the district court to find that Turismo was required to be licensed under the applicable local laws.
a. New York
Under New York law, “[n]o person shall engage in ... the business of receiving money for transmission or transmitting the same, without a license therefor.”
In 1999 and 2000, Turismo opened two accounts at Israel Discount Bank in New York City that it used to distribute funds by issuing cheeks and making transfers to customers who also maintained accounts at that bank. Between 2000 and 2003, Turismo engaged a New York-based money transmitter, Beacon Hill Service Corporation, which opened an account in Turismo’s name at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York. Beacon Hill received checks from Turismo’s New York accounts and wire transfers from individuals in Florida and South America, and it then used those funds to make over 1,000 outgoing wire transmittals at Turismo’s direction. Mazza-Alaluf himself describes these accounts as having “received and transmitted tens of millions of dollars.” Appellant’s Br. at 22 (emphasis added). Viewing the record of Turismo’s substantial New York money transfers in the light most favorable to the government, we conclude that this evidence was sufficient to permit the district court to find that Turismo was “engaged in the business of’ transmitting money in New York despite having its prinсipal place of business in Chile.
Our recent decision in
United States v. Bah,
b. Illinois
In Illinois, it is a felony for a person to “engage in this State in the business of ... transmitting money ... without first obtaining a license under this Act.” 205 111.
c. Michigan
Finally, in Michigan, it is a felony for a person to “provide money transmission services in this state ... without a license.” Mich. Comp. Law §§ 487.1011, 487.1042(3). In December 2006, after Harris closed Turismo’s Illinois account, Mazza-Alaluf and his cousin Luis Mazza-Olmos, а co-owner of Turismo, opened an account at the Chase Manhattan Bank branch in Dearborn, Michigan. To open the account, Turismo provided the United States address of Mazza-Olmos’s Michigan accountant. Again, Mazza-Alaluf acknowledges that the Michigan account “took in approximately $42 million, and sent out approximately the same amount to other recipients.” Appellant’s Br. at 36.
“Money transmission services” are defined under Michigan law to include,
inter alia,
“receiving money or monetary value for transmission.” Mich. Comp. Law § 487.1003(c). Mazza-Alaluf asserts that the transactions were directed from Chile and merely cleared through the Michigan account. Therefore, he contends, the receipt of money actually occurred in Chile because Turismo communicated with its customers, accepted their orders, and executed the wire transfers from there. We disagree. The common meaning of “receive” is “to take possession or delivery of.”
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary
1894 (1986). Here, the district court specifically found that Turismo “took in approximately $42 million” in Michigan,
United States v. Mazza-Alaluf,
In construing the New York money transmitting statute, however, we have held that
In sum, we conclude that sufficient evidence supports Mazza-Alalufs convictions under
B. Mazzar-Alalufs Sentencing Challenge
1. Jurisdiction
Because Mazza-Alaluf finished sеrving his forty-two-month term of imprisonment on April 16, 2010, and is now awaiting removal, the government submits that his sentencing challenge is moot. “An appellate challenge to a criminal sentence is rendered moot when the defendant has been released from prison and when there is either no possibility or only a remote and speculative possibility that the district court could or would impose a reduced term of supervised release were we to remand for resentencing.”
United States v. Key,
In
Mercurris,
we concluded that a defendant who had already been deported,
see
Accordingly, we conclude that we have jurisdiction to address the merits of Mazza-Alalufs sentencing challenge.
2. Mazzar-Alalufs Sentence Was Reasonable
We review Mazza-Alalufs sentence for reasonableness,
see Kimbrough v. United States,
Mazza-Alaluf principally contends that his sentence is procedurally unreason
The district court here stated that it had considered
To the extent Mаzza-Alaluf asserts that the district court failed to accord the
Accordingly, we identify no procedural or substantive unreasonableness in the challenged sentence.
III. Conclusion
To summarize, we conclude:
1. Title
2. The trial evidence was sufficient to permit a finding that Mazza-Alaluf operated an unlicensed money transmitting business in New York, Illinois, and Michigan because Turismo transmitted hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of its customers from accounts in those states.
3. Mazza-Alaluf s sentencing challenge is not moot because he has neither served his remaining two-year term of supervised release nor been deported, and the government directs us to no statutory barrier to re-entry based on the crime of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Nevertheless, Mazza-Alaluf s below-Guidelines sentence is reasonable.
Affirmed.